57.1501° N, 2.1018° W

ABERDEEN

Most Famous People Born in Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Notable people
885
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1911
Most distinctive
Surgeon 7.8×

Granite-city overachievers: the Surgeon and Physician benches reflect the medical school that trained the founders of modern anaesthesia and tropical medicine, and the Botanist cluster comes from Kew-adjacent plant hunters who combed the empire. The Golf reading is simply what happens when your coastline invented the sport.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Aberdeen during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 79 notable births.

What Aberdeen Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Aberdeen's biggest profession — 22% of all notables (195).

Aberdeen over-indexes on surgeon — 7.8× the global rate.

Aberdeen under-produces actor — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football195
  2. Politician79
  3. Actor27
  4. Painter20
  5. Writer19
  6. Physician18
  7. Poet15
  8. Historian15
  1. Surgeon97.8×
  2. Golf106.7×
  3. Botanist123.4×
  4. Physician183.0×
  5. Mathematician102.3×
  6. Engineer122.2×
  7. Football1952.0×
  8. Poet151.6×
  1. Actor270.6×
  2. Writer190.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Aberdeen's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
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  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Music
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Showing 32 of 885 notable people

0028 WRITER

Lewis Grassic Gibbon

1901 - 1935

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0048 ACTOR

Andrew Cruickshank

1907 - 1988

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0088 SINGER

Jeannie Robertson

1908 - 1975

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0179 EXPLORER

James Marr (biologist)

1902 - 1965

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0216 SKIER

Jeanette Kessler

1908 - 1972

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0224 CRICKET

Ian Peebles

1908 - 1980

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0288 FOOTBALL

Dally Duncan

1909 - 1990

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0409 LECTURER

Catherine Gavin

1907 - 2001

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0416 MUSIC

Margaret Read (musician)

1905 - 1996

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0455 POET

Flora Garry

1900 - 2000

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0472 WRITER

Janet Teissier du Cros

1905 - 1990

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0475 FOOTBALL

Benny Yorston

1905 - 1977

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0481 AVIATOR

Marion Wilberforce

1902 - 1995

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0548 MATHEMATICIAN

Edwin A. Maxwell

1907 - 1987

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0595 FOOTBALL

Jimmy Robertson (American football)

1901 - 1974

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0597 POET

Olive Fraser

1909 - 1977

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0656 SURGEON

Terence Cawthorne

1902 - 1970

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0670 FISHER

Dod Orsborne

1902 - 1957

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0679 FOOTBALL

Dave Davidson (footballer)

1905 - 1969

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0683 FOOTBALL

Bill Murray (footballer, born 1901)

1901 - 1961

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0759 MUSIC

George Elrick

1903 - 1999

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0764 SWIMMER

George Young (swimmer)

1909 - 1972

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0804 FOOTBALL

Eddie Legge

1902 - 1947

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0820 CAMPAIGN

Neill Ogilvie-Forbes

1900 - 1990

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0822 FOOTBALL

Douglas Westland

1909 - 1998

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0827 FOOTBALL

John Duffus

1901 - 1975

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0859 ENGINEER

John Dodds (engineer)

1905 - 1983

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0865 BIOCHEMIST

George Adam Reay

1901 - 1971

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0866 MEDICAL

Peter Laird McKinlay

1901 - 1972

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0868 FOOTBALL

William Chalmers (footballer, born 1901)

1901 - 1997

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0874 TEACHER

Alexander Robertson (veterinarian)

1908 - 1990

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0885 FOOTBALL

Bill Menzies

1901 - 1970

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